Facing System

ABSTRACT

An insulated facing system, suitable for application to a wide variety of building façade substrates, in both new build and retro-fit situations. It is a simple to install and cost effective lightweight facing system, with rebate edged insulation attached to facing panels by back site anchors, and fixed to building facades by a clip and horizontal rail system. 
     The system provides excellent whole life costings and seamless architectural detailing.

BACKGROUND

Kirk ThermalWall® is an insulated facing system suitable for application onto a variety of building façade substrates, in both new build and retro-fit situations.

Kirk ThermalWall has been developed to provide a highly energy efficient, simple to install and cost effective facing system, with excellent whole life costing. If a facing panel of natural stone is used, the highest levels of durability and weathering for building facades are provided, which based on the lifespan seen historically for natural stone buildings is expected to be 100's of years when the system is applied correctly.

Kirk ThermalWall also has very high sustainability credentials when stone facing panels are used, on account of the extremely long expected service life, the very low embodied CO2 of it's components and the ability to successfully de-fit, upgrade and re-fit the system.

The Kirk ThermalWall insulated facing system can be applied successfully to most building façade types, including render/concrete block, timber frame and steel frame. A wide variety of panel types, finish types, panel shapes and sizes are available to suit contemporary and traditional architectural styles. Once applied the system provides high levels of energy efficiency and if natural stone panels are used gives the appearance of a building constructed from solid stone, by adopting high quality detailing at corners, openings, etc. The system is highly relevant towards helping meet new energy performance requirements, and via it's contribution to insulating value can reduce the costs of for example timber kits to meet new building standards.

Kirk ThermalWall offers significant possibilities at relatively low cost, to improve the appearance, thermal performance and lifespan of both existing and new buildings.

BRIEF SUMMARY Insulated Facing System.

An insulated facing system, suitable for application to a wide variety of building façade substrates, in both new build and retro-fit situations. It is a simple to install and cost effective lightweight facing system, with rebate edged insulation attached to facing panels by back site anchors, and fixed to building facades by a clip and horizontal rail system.

The system provides excellent whole life costings and seamless architectural detailing.

FIG. 1 to accompany summary

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

This brief description of the accompanying drawings has been formatted to comply with U.S. Patent specification guidelines but contains no additional information over and above the UK patent granted (GB2517013-15) for this invention.

FIG. 1 Facing System Overview

Front elevation drawing with plan view below and cross section to right

FIG. 2 Back Site Anchors (BSA)

Side view of Back Site Anchors with screw thread inserted at top of page and side view of back site anchor showing undercut hole at bottom of page.

FIG. 3 Clip and Continuous Horizontal Rail Profiles

Side view of clip to left and side view of horizontal rail to right

FIG. 4 Clip and Horizontal Rail Profile Traces

Rail (horizontal) side profile shown to left and clip side profile to right

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to an insulation backed facing system as set out in the claims. An embodiment will now be described.

Kirk ThermalWall comprises thin facing panels, fixed mechanically using back site anchors (BSA) to a rigid insulation panel of varying thickness depending upon the building facade substrate character and desired U value (FIGS. 1 and 2). These rigid insulation panels are rebated along all edges to provide rigidity and prevent inwards/outwards movements once in place, and are oversized all round relative to the facing panel to create the desired horizontal and vertical joint spacing. Overlap of the rebated edges on the insulation also helps prevent moisture ingress via the joints, which can either be left open or filled with a suitable pointing medium as required. The system is fixed mechanically without the need for adhesives, cements or resins, except for pointing, and can therefore within reason be installed independently of weather conditions. It is recommended that weep holes are installed at the base of wall sections to allow any moisture which may penetrate the system, or condensation which develops on the back of the insulation layer, to drain away. The facing panels may have a thickness in the range 8-30 mm.

Kirk ThermalWall is secured to building façades via a clip/horizontal rail system (FIGS. 3-4). Clips are attached by nuts/washers onto the stems of back site anchors at points on the back of each panel. These clips in turn hook onto continuous horizontal rails, fixed accurately by laser profile onto the building façade. Oversized fixing holes in the clips allow small amounts of up/down and side to side movement, whilst shimming of the clips and horizontal rails can provide a similar amount of inwards/outwards movement.

The clips are held in place by a nut/washer onto the threaded stem of the back site anchors secured into the back of panels. Additional security can be provided as required by installing tek screws through the top of the clips into the horizontal rails. For very uneven substrates requiring a greater degree of in/out adjustment, a bracket/vertical back rail system, such as an L shaped back bracket system, is available. Thermal bridging effects can be minimised where required by applying a thermal break against the face of the building, behind the continuous horizontal fixing rails.

Once fixed in place, the standard clip/horizontal rail system leaves a cavity behind the back of the insulation panel. The system can be supplied in a variety of panel sizes to suit the intended application, either with or without false joints. Special L shaped corner/ingo panels are also available, with thicker panel material and a consequently reduced insulation thickness in these areas. Similarly, cills, lintols, string and band courses can be supplied to any design profile, faced with material of suitable thickness to suit the design.

The Kirk ThermalWall insulation backed facing system , is fully demountable, upgradeable and able to be subsequently re-fixed, subject to the replacement of any failed or damaged fastening components. 

1) An insulation backed facing system comprising facing panels held onto rebate edged rigid external grade insulation via back site anchors and clips, which in turn are used to fix the panel onto a continuous horizontal rail held in place by expanding bolts or tek screws onto the building façade substrate. 2) An insulation backed facing system according to claim 1, where facing panels have a thickness in the range 8-30 mm. 3) An insulation backed facing system according to claim 1, where the clips provide up/down and side/side movement, and are held by a nut/washer onto the threaded stem of the back site anchors secured into the back of the panels. 4) An insulation backed facing system according to claim 1, in which continuous horizontal rails can be adjusted inwards/outwards by small amounts using shims, or by larger amounts on uneven substrates by an L shaped back bracket system. 5) An insulation backed facing system according to claim 1, in which the external grade insulation attached via back site anchors onto a facing panels is oversized to yield the desired joint spacing and rebate edged to provide a weathertight, structurally secure and stable insulating layer onto the building façade. 6) An insulation backed facing system according to claim 1, in which the thickness of the external grade insulating layer attached to facing panels can be varied to increase/decrease desired U values to optimum levels depending upon building energy performance requirements. 7) An insulation backed facing system according to claim 1, in which a cavity formed behind the external grade insulation layer against the building façade structure, can be ventilated via weep type vents to prevent moisture ingress into the building. 